Cleo's Bath Trail via Pinecrest Lake Loop

Cleo's Bath Trail via Pinecrest Lake Loop is a 6.7 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Pinecrest, California that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

DISTANCE

6.7 miles

ELEVATION GAIN

843 feet

ROUTE TYPE

Loop

dogs on leash

kid friendly

birding

camping

fishing

hiking

nature trips

paddle sports

trail running

walking

forest

lake

river

views

waterfall

wild flowers

wildlife

rocky

scramble

snow

no shade

Trail marker is off the north side of Pinecrest lake. Pleasant trail through forest and rocky switchbacks at high elevation. Opens up into river, wading pool and waterfall area. Great views of Pinecrest Lake.

Cindi F.

I absolutely loved this trail....my friend who is not a hiker came with me, we made it to the top no issues. amazing views. started raining as we were on the top. As we hiked down the rocks were extremely slippery. I hit a rock just right and rolled my ankle. Continued to hike until I couldn't go any further. Had to call 911 and be rescued out. Tualome co fire dept is absolutely AMAZING. 4 firemen hiked me out. Turns out I fractured my fibula in two places, had to have surgery requiring a metal plate with screws in my ankle. Still recovering but you can bet I will be back!

My boyfriend and I hiked this trail in early Oct 2018. For fitness context, I am a mid twenty year old who goes to the gym 2-3 days a week and is active during my job and my boyfriend is in his early 30's and goes to the gym 4 days a week. We found this trail really great and got a nice workout in without feeling spent or crazy sore by the end. As people have mentioned, the bouldering is the main challenging part of this hike, but it's pretty short and surprisingly easy. For example, several dogs were able to do it. It took us from around 1:00-5:00 for the whole hike, but we stopped and explored the area around Cleo's Bath a bit. Also, the trail isn't incredibly well marked once you leave the pinecrest lake loop, so watch for the blue areas and stay with your group! We picked up a lost hiker on the way back to the lake so it definitely can happen. there was no place to get portable water along the trail but there was a flowing river so bring water or a filter. The only bathrooms were at the beginning of the trail.
Overall, a very beautiful hike for a wide variety of fitness levels.

Very nice mostly easy terrain until you get to the boulders. For me it was harder going up then coming down but totally worth it even without the waterfall. I’d advise wearing pants or longer shorts as I had to be in some awkward positions to climb the rocks and get back down. No woman wants scraped up legs. I enjoyed that it wasn’t full on sun. There was plenty of shade to enjoy on a hot day. Although I did see dogs at the bath I wouldn’t recommend bringing them up there. Also bring a backpack keep your hands free as you will need them both to get up to the bath.

Parts of the trails were misleading. But overall it has beautiful scenery with some wildlife added to the trip. The hike is for sure over 6.7 miles. Also you need to be aware of some rock climbing involved. Overall I would recommend nice trail.

First time hiking in Pinecrest and I absolutely loved Cleos bath trail. It's not too clearly marked in some areas, you can lose the trail. Some people are nice enough to spray paint arrows but they are fading. The swimming hole at the top is the best part of the hike!

Definitely got lost coming back down and went to the left instead of staying to the right and ended up on a very scary ledge. Just make sure you stay to the RIGHT when you head back down and look for the stacking stones. Fun hike and very rewarding at the top. Highly recommend this hike but be careful.

This hike is gorgeous! I’ve hiked around Pinecrest several times and always wanted to hike back in. The water was really moving today, and we could hear the waterfall from pretty far away. Be prepared to scale some large boulders. We saw one small ran snake, but I’m sure there were others hidden in the rocks and plants so watch your toes! The trail can be hard to find at times. Keep an eye out for blue spray painted arrows, piled rocks, and occasionally arrows that look like they were done with crayon! If all else fails, follow the water up! A lot of dogs were on the way back, but once we scrambled up the rocks a lot stopped at the bottom. It’d be very difficult for them and young kids/elderly.

This is a beautiful hike but more than moderate in difficulty in places, especially in the uphill portion to Cleo's Bath. The trail is not well mark in place that resulted in a number of side tours for us and other hiking at the time. The last stretch to the top of the falls can be outright dangerous if you take the almost vertical route.

Great hike. Loved that there was actual climbing required to get there. Not too hard to do, I saw dogs and children as young as 7 doing it. The best part is having a nice cold bath waiting for you at the end, with some great views of Pinecrest Lake.

Beautiful hike, but lots of hikers on the main trail around the lake. A word of caution: the end of this trail requires bouldering several hundred feet up...a challenge for humans and an even bigger challenge for dogs!

Make sure you take the other way back around the side of the lake that you didn’t head out on. The side with the dam is amazing and offers more of a challenge than the side with the majority of houses. Just completed this hike in Dec and the weather was fantastic, minimal snow pack.